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Books That Inspire 2009

Like so many young people in the 1970s and 1980s, my interest in science and astronomy was sparked by Star Trek, Star Wars, the NASA probes, and the first Space Shuttle launch. Cosmos answered so many questions and hit just the right note. In this book (and the accompanying PBS television series, available on iTunes), Carl Sagan challenges us to consider the “big” questions. How was the Earth formed? How does the human brain work? What is the likelihood of life on other planets? The detailed explanations are not watered down, but they are still accessible to those of us without degrees in astronomy or biology. Cosmos was my most important history class (the history of the universe) and my most important science class (how things work).